Last.



Patented Feb. 6, |900.

la Z5 LAST.

E. C. WRIGHT.

STATES PATENT union.

ELLERY C. WRIGHT, OF BROOKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 642,945, dated February 6, 1900.

Application filed June 29, 1899.

T 0 a/ZZ whom t may concern: l

Be it known that I, ELLERY C. VRIGHT, of Brockton, county of Plymouth, State of Massach usetts, have invented an Improvement in Lasts, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This present invention is an improvement on the general kind of last shown in my United States Patent No. 605,768, dated June 14,1898, the object of the present improvements being to give increased strength and life to the last in its use for making boots and shoes.

The modern requirements of lasts When used in regular work as first lasts in boot and shoe factories are very destructive of the lasts, especially to the heel parts thereof, inasmuch as great crushing pressure is brought to bear thereon at various times, this crushing pressure frequently amounting to half a ton, and although the lasts are usually made of kilndried maple rendered as hard and bony as possible and the lasts are strengthened by steel plates and my patented last above mentioned also has a transverse truss extending beneath the spindle socket or thimble yet the lasts Will invariably crush down more or less, and some of them will split long before the last is Worn out. Moreover, I have found that the crushing pressure alluded to has sometimes in lasts constructed according to my before-mentioned patent (in which the truss so reinforces the wood of the last as to prevent the latter crushing down or splitting) actually crushed down the spindle socket or thimble of the last.

My invention aims to provide means for correcting the Weaknesses above alluded to, it being my object to provide a last-heel so constructed that it will stand any amount of heeling-pressure which the modern machines in use bring to bear on the lasts.

The constructional details of my invention will be set forth in the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, and the latter will be more particularly defined in the appended claims, forming a part of this specification.

In the drawings, Figures l, 2, 3, and 6 are Serial No. 72 2,277. (No model.)

vertical cross-sectional views taken through the heel of a last longitudinally of the spindle hole, socket, or thimble, as it is variously called, Fig. l illustrating the manner in which I bore the last before inserting any of the metal parts, Fig. 2 showing the parts inserted, Fig. 3 showing the parts in their ultimate position as the last is prepared for the market, and Fig. 6 showing a modified form. Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views, respectively, of my improved thimble or spindle-socket and the reinforcing button or supplemental steel bottom used in connection therewith.

The last may be of any style and shape desii-ed, my invention being applicable to all kinds of lasts and not being restricted in any way otherwise than as set forth in the claims.

At the usual place in the heel a I bore a spindle-hole b, slightly shorter than usual,and in alinement with a point slightly above the bottom of this hole I bore a transverse hole b of a size to receive the transverse bolt or supporting-stay b2, the head b3 and riveted end b4 of the bolt being countersunk, as shown in my patent. Having thus bored the last as required, I placein the bottom of the hole b see Fig. 2) a supplemental steel bottom c,

shown in Fig. 5, Where it will be seen that it is disk-like in form and adapted to fit snugly in the bottom of the spindle-hole.) The stay b2 is then inserted and riveted in place in the position shown in Fig. 2, said stay passing over the supplemental steel bottom c, and thereupon my improved spindle-socket d is forced into the position shown in Fig. 2, resting directly on the stay b2.

The supplemental bottom c is preferably made of steel in the form of a disk having opposite substantially parallel sides, the size of the disk corresponding to the cross-section ofthe usual spindle-hole of a last.

The spindle socket or thimble d is a very important feature of my invention. As al-A ready stated, the sockets ordinarily employed, although made of metal, usually steel, occasionally crush down and fail to withstand the heavy pressure which is brought to bear upon them, especially under the heeling-machines, and also another inconvenience which has heretofore existed has been that when the lasts shrink the spindle-thimbles havev become loose and liable to drop. out. Accord- IOO ingly I have effectually cured both of these faults by providing the thimble with relatively long ribs CZ, said ribs extending obliquely around the thimble, as shown in Fig. 4C, preferably for a third or more of the length of the thimble, and serving not only to reinforce the thimble, so that it will not crush under any pressure likely to be brought upon it, but also to give the thimble a slight twist in the wood without spoiling the hole as the thimble is driven, thereby elfectually keeping the thimble in place even though the wood should shrink away from it. The bottom d2 also of the thimble is made solid and of considerable thickness, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4c, and is nearly dat, so that it prevents any wedging tendency of the thimble in contact with the wood and prevents to some extent the splitting and crushing of the latter. I-Iaving inserted the thimble, as shown in Fig. 2, with the end projecting above the last about a quarter of an inch, more or less, great longitudinal pressure is brought to bear upon the thimble and it is forced down level with the top of the heel of the last into the l position shown in Fig. 3, thereby effecting a twofold object, viz: it bends the bolt Z22 into a U-shaped position, so that the flanged ends of the bolt pull in the sides of the last to the best advantage, so as to prevent any possibility of the wood bulging at the sides, and, second, it depresses the supplemental bottom c and puts the wood immediately beneath the same at a under such compression that it becomes hard, like stone, as is indicated in Figs. 3 and 6. The result is that thereafter the last will withstand any pressure liable to be brought to bear upon it. The hardened region a acts like an abutment or pier, refusing to give way in the slightest to such vertical thrusts as may come upon it, and likewise the stay b2, having already been put under a state of tension, will withstand any tendency to bend it further. The ribs d of the thimble, moreover, getting, as they do, a considerable extent of bearing-surface along the walls of the spindle-hole, offer considerable resistance to a direct downward thrust, besides serving to effectually prevent the spindle from any outward movement and serving to strengthen and reinforce the thimble against crushing in thereof.

A last constructed with the parts in position as shown in Fig. 2 (the top of the thimble, however, being of course flush with the last) would be a considerable improvement over the construction of my before-mentioned patent and would withstand considerably more than the said patented construction; but when the parts have been brought into the relative positions shown in Figs. 3 or 6 (the latter figure being the same as Fig. 3, eX- ceptin g that the bottom c is not employed) another important element or feature enters in, viz: all the sustaining parts, including the wood as well as the metal parts, are already in a conditionof tension-. e., they are alreadyin acondition of resistance and are not merely passive or in a condition to yield slightly and then offer continually-increasing resistance, but they have already been placed in a position where they immediately offer the maximum resistance to any pressure brought upon them, and hence there is no liability or tendency to give in the least.

As already stated, I have herein shown the preferred form of my invention, and the last as an article of manufacture will preferably be constructed, so far as my invention is concerned, as shown in Fig. 3; but it is to be noted that the form shown in Fig. 6 and also claimed is of much value, although not quite as strong as the other form referred to, and I intend also this application to cover broadly all the features of my invention as set forth in the various claims appended hereto.

I have already alluded to certain changes of construction and modifications which I intend to cover in this application, and I wish it further to be understood that I am not limited to all the details herein shown and described, but that many changes and substitutions may be resorted to without departing from my invention, and to this end I have purposely made certain of the claims broad in scope, so as to cover my invention in its broad aspects and to include certain features of my invention which might be employed with advantage, but which would not constitute the complete or preferred form and construction thereof.

I-Iaving described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

l. As an article of manufacture, a last having a transverse stay-bolt extending through the last from side to side, a supplemental metal bottom embedded in the material of the last beneath said bolt, and a spindle-thimble in alinement with said bottom above said bolt, substantially as described.

2. A last having a transverse stay-bolt extending through the last from side to side, a spindle-thimble resting vertically above said bolt, said thimble having one or more external ribs formed thereon and extending obliquely along a considerable portion of the length of the thimble, substantially as described.

3. A last having a transverse stay-bolt extending through the last from side to side, a spindle-thimble resting vertically above said bolt, said thimble having one or more external ribs formed thereon and extending obliquely along a considerable portion of the length of the thimble, the bottom of said thimble being flat and of considerable thickness, substantially as described.

4. As an article of manufacture, a last having a transverse stay-bolt extending through the last from side to side, and provided with retaining ends engaging the wood of the last, said bolt being bent downwardly to approximate a U shape, a spindle-thimble resting IOO IIO

vertically above the middle part of said bolt and the wood beneath the bent portion of said bolt being compressed, substantially as described.

5. As an article of manufacture, a last having a transverse stay-bolt extending through the last from side to side, and provided with retaining ends engaging the wood of the last, said bolt being bent downwardly to approximate a U shape, a supplemental metal bottom embedded in the wood of the last beneath the middle of said bolt, the Wood of the last beneath said supplemental bottom being rendered dense by compression, and a spindlethimble resting on said bolt vertically above said supplemental bottom, substantially as described.

6. As an article of manufacture, a last having a transverse stay-bolt extending through the last from side to side, and provided with retaining ends engaging the wood of the last, said bolt being bent downwardly to approximate a U shape, a steel disk corresponding in size to the transverse section of the spindle-hole of the last and embedded in the wood of the last beneath the middle of said bolt, the wood of the last beneath said disk being compressed, and a spindle-thimble resting on said bolt vertically above said disk, substantially as described.

7. The herein-described spindle thimble comprising a tubular body having a size to tit the usual spindle-hole of alast, said tubular body being closed at its bottom and provided with one or more external ribs formed thereon and extending obliquely to the length of the thimble, substantially as described.

S. The herein-described spindle-thimble for lasts, comprising a tubular body having a size to fit the usual spindle-hole of the last, said tubular body being closed at its bottom and provided with one or more external ribs formed thereon, substantially as described.

9. A last having at its heel end a spindlehole, a spindle-thimble in said hole, and a supplemental bottom below said thimble, said supplemental bottom consisting of a disk having opposite substantially parallel plane sides, one of which serves as an abutment to rest upon an extended surface of the material of which the last is composed, and the other side of which serves to support and receive the downward pressure of the spindlethimble, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ELLERY o. WRIGHT.

Witnesses:

Guo. H. MAXWELL, FREDERICK L. EMnnv. 

